How Brands Can Counteract Ad Blockers

Ad blockers threaten digital marketing and the digital publishing ecosystem, many believe. Few online publishers earn income from paid subscriptions; most rely on advertising to pay their bills. By decreasing the number of impressions from online advertising, ad blockers also cause marketing problems for brands.

Consumers install ad blockers on their web browsers to improve their customer experience in viewing online editorial content. Most ad blocking software works well to minimize the annoyance of auto-play video ads, overlay ads, and slow-to-load graphic ads. You would think consumers would fight to keep their ad blockers.

(I confess to using an ad blocker on my desktop computer for the same reasons other consumers use them – to prevent intrusive advertising that slows down my access to the content I want to see.)

Remarkably, new research from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), Ad Blocking: Who Blocks Ads, Why, and How to Win Them Back concludes that publishers can convince two-thirds of consumers to turn off ad blockers on their smartphones and computers. Consumers, it seems, see value in advertising.

Top ways recommended by C3Research to persuade visitors to turn off ad blockers include:

• Prevent access to content alongside a notice that states content is blocked because of the use of an ad blocker. (I’ve personally seen a few of these notices. Since I don’t recall how to access the ad blocker to turn it off, the notice results in my immediate exit from the web page. I’m probably typical. So much for that recommendation.)
• Ensure that ads do not have auto-play audio or video.
• Make sure that ads do not overlay content.
• Safeguard users from ads infected with malware/viruses.
• Guarantee that ads do not slow down browsing.

In other words, publishers must avoid interfering with the enjoyable perusal of editorial content and make ads less intrusive. Brands – that is, advertisers — must also get comfortable with the “less intrusive” dictum.

The LEAN Principles

Publishers that adopt IAB’s LEAN principles (Light, Encrypted, AdChoice supported, and Non-invasive ads), can persuade visitors to turn off ad blockers, the study suggests. For instance, men ages 18-34, who are the main ad blocker on desktops, are also the group most inclined to turn off blocking if sites adhere to LEAN.

“This study provides actionable insights and guidance for the entire industry to improve user experience and potentially convince consumers to disable ad blockers,” said Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO of IAB, in a BusinessWire press release. “It’s encouraging to see how favorably the IAB LEAN principles were received – confirming that they are critical to the marketplace.”

“The next step in bringing ad blocking consumers back into the fold is the establishment of a LEAN scoring system, which will allow for user experience to be measured against clear-cut benchmarks,” said Alanna Gombert, senior vice president, technology and ad operations, IAB, and General Manager, IAB Tech Lab. “The IAB Tech Lab is on track to provide a LEAN scoring algorithm and publish initial LEAN scorecard recommendations by the end of this year.”

Once the LEAN scorecard is in place, ad blocking software may be programmed to block ads on websites with bad scores and allow ads to appear on sites with good scores. Or, even better, consumers may be able to set their own personal levels of ad blocking based on LEAN scores.

Most Annoying Practices

The study confirms that consumers – whether they currently block ads or not – are most annoyed by advertisements that delay or obscure access to website content. Long-video ads before short videos were the next most irritating to users, followed by ads that traveled with visitors as they scrolled down the page.

Ad block users are more annoyed by web advertising than others and more likely to describe themselves as easily distracted by ads. Non-users, particularly those who are considering installing an ad blocker, are more concerned about getting viruses while browsing online.

Surprisingly, while 40 percent of users believe they have ad blockers on their computers, only one in four (26%) actually used the software on their PCs. The rest confused built-in pop-up blockers and security software with ad blockers. In addition, while a quarter of consumers use ad blockers on their PCs, just 15 percent use them on their smartphones.

Despite the research it’s not clear how publishers and advertisers will change their ways — or if dedicated ad block users would indeed uninstall the programs. Barry Levine at Marketing Land was at least somewhat skeptical that would happen quickly.

Like most consumers, I acknowledge that advertising has value and recognize that advertising supports the costs delivering superb editorial content. I have no objection to advertising that doesn’t intrude overtly on my access to the editorial content I want to see. Some version of newspaper or magazine advertising is perfectly acceptable for online use – possibly including some eye-catching movement component that’s not available in print advertising and that has only a small impact on page loading times.

For the most part, the 30-second TV ad isn’t appropriate for the web. A shorter, less intrusive and more easily by-passed version of TV advertisements is needed for online advertising with multilevel pricing based on what parts of the ad a person actually saw and which brand messages they received. Why not use really short video ads that include links to more detailed information? Why not limit the number of ads on each page, thereby giving greater exposure to each ad that does appear?

Other Solutions to Ad Blockers

The increase in ad blockers may be a factor in growing acceptance by publishers and brands of native advertising, also known as sponsored content, paid advertising that’s designed to appear like editorial content.

Some publishers, including The Washington Post, The New York Times and other major news outlets, publish their news and feature content directly on Facebook through Instant Articles where the content is immune to ad blockers.

Earned media – content marketing, social media marketing and good old-fashioned PR — may offer the best way brands can counteract the effects of ad blockers. Earned media is impervious to ad blocking and has greater credibility than advertising. With creative development of earned media placements, both traditional and social media can be very effective in communicating brand messages normally delivered through advertising.

Industry-wide adoption of new advertising guidelines may take time, and marketers must promote their products now.

“Specifically, the most viable solution is to double-down on earned media — attention that is derived through the words and expressions of others, rather than that which is paid for,” wrote Steve Rubel, chief content strategist for Edelman in an article for Advertising Age. “We may look back on this time as the beginning of the great era of earned media,” he said.

Bottom Line: Advertisers and publishers can convince consumers to turn off ad blockers by following recommended industry best practices, according to new research. Whether or advertisers and publishers will adopt the recommendations and how many consumers would uninstall ad blocking software remains to be seen. In the meantime, greater emphasis on the use of earned media offers an effective path to gain awareness and deliver brand messages.

Will consumers turn off their ad blockers? Would you? Please comment below.